Self-cleaning door mat



Patented Sept. 271, 1949 UNITED This invention relates tofimprovements in deer f mats of he ype empl yin m hanicallymin and power actuated wiping belts arranged in a work over which-pedestrians pass, and operative to Wipe and clean the soles of the shees.

The primary object efymy present invention is to provide a simple and practical construction ie-r this typeof door mat, well adapted to be installed in the floor of a building immediately inside the door, so that persons entering the building will be compelled to traverse the mat as they enter and whereby their shoes or other footwear will be scrubbed and cleaned. Another object isto prof vide a novel and .eifective means for cleaning er the belts themselves eentinuously as theypper ate. Still another object is to provide efiieient means for .y-ieldably supporting the belts under the weight of persons passing over the neat. These and other more detailed and objects will be disclosed in the coursenf the following specification. referenee being had to the aceompanying'drawings,inwhich I Fig. l is a plan View of the door mat showing it installed in a floor inside a revolving door and showing the door and adjacent wall portions i the building in section; I Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional partially in elevation and taken substantially ,alongtheline2 2 Fig. l. e I H Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken along the line 33 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical .cross section {along the line 4-4 in Fig. 2. v

Referring now more particularly by reiflerence characters to the drawing, A designates the ground floor of a building having a wall l3 pro.- vided with a revolving door entrance .C, ,as shown in Fig. 1. Immediately inside the .entrancefC the floor is provided with a rectangular inset iranie, indicated generally at :5, which supports a 110115.- ing or pan 6 dependingbelow .the surface of t he floor. Extending .l'engthwisewith respect to the general ath of travel of ,persons entering through the entranceC the .frame has a series (of transversely spaced parallel frame bars I set .on

edge and secured at their ends in the frame and upper edges of these ,bars being flush with the floor surface forming a grill -1ike structure adapted to engage the feet and lsurgport the weight of pedestrians entering the building;

Positioned between the bars 1; which cooperate to form ehannels -forithe purpose, is a .series of flexible belts "8 which are stretched over rollers .9 at opposite ends of the frame; and these helts .g are of flexible material such as rubber-so that they. may be stretched iairly taut between the Trailers 9. The upper suriaces pr of these belts are normally pesitioned slightly above the label Bf the bars; 3,, er gncre particularly the transv rse mm'hsetiensnrr bs wit Wh t? e b ts a e emvidedime arrane-es t n rmall proiec'tabbue the snriace 10f the frame as a e- Thusthe ole a i eineer Q? th P on tr v rsing the. name b i deb y neased. by said eerrugatiians ll] when the belts are satin motionless so that thebe ts Will crap r otherwise brush on snch material as mud and slnsh-iremsaild too-tween v -'lhe-roll1$ a e m unt d ee s H d i2 ieumaied twistere a he 19 9 and at one of th toners the shafts garry het i deea s i3 and 44. i ee-rm s a '5 9 the roller shafts and at .ree me e ename sle f a d rs 43 a d M- ,The t (is slr aw n by a ot 8 9 1 99 helew th t a n e d h v a s aft 4. eate sup w dhere n than a bear n i 91 .Them r i? was be l a a remote point, such as the easement .of the lenilding and. drives reuers t oiig'h a worm 24. senil shaf :19 andh i ne. we. i ear upon the shaft ii. It will be noted bevedseear. h irs .3 nd .45 and A an I1 oi q i el-y tha h rfiiatioii th shafts ti and lz -will be in th same d rection. T e meter .18 is. 0 1f course, started and steeped as wse e rrmn i i eie, afid Whii secret on we ers i sh tfl W111 o .d ve the belts e that the regtw. Y r eersoas pas r g pi er the 5 {and enter ng the building will a pfiectively a; med. n pdsitiiie drive to been rellers :9 makes; necessaryte pros/rue any speigial rneans gfpr the traits iii .a taut qen tie Ext nd n tran yers l int m see B is a se i s at he e .33 h e ia h pi n ar a e tu ed 3! to te m be ri g f the .e urt-ter h it 4-5. or important; these cross {213313- 23 ic ng: strnnprts tor the ripper runs .otthe belts 3 and fer nurpose there is provided secured to unper edges of thetcro's's bars a l w rig d ji ad sugap tins p te .25. li is p t 25 extends almost the inn length oi the seen between the rollers 9 and to its upper errate there is vulcanized qr otherwise bonded and anchoreda support pad iioispenge rubberorother yieldah e 3 51 8 Q' ub tant t 7. tim 1? fifih ils fififi fif 13. nd

3 flexible metal covering or pad 21. In the normal position of the belts 8 their upper runs just clear the aforesaid plate 21, but as a person walks across the mat their weight will depress the upper runs of the belts into contract with the plate 21, which forms a smooth surface over which the belts may readily slide as they travel, and in addition transmits the weight and compression forces to the support pad 26, which yieldably urges the belts into positive scraping relation with the soles of said persons footwear, as will be understood.

The housing 6 has a bottom 28 which slopes toward a drain opening or pipe 29 and a pair of transversely extending spray pipes 353 and 3! spray water or other cleansing liquid upon the lower runs of the belts to clear the same of ac cumulated materials scraped from the shoes. The surplus water will of course run out through the drain Z9, and I indicate conventional piping generally at 32 for carrying the cleansing liquid to said spray pipes. In addition, I also provide a transversely extending brush 33 which is supported by a spring 34 secured at 35 to the housing bottom 28. This brush is positioned between the sprays to assist in removing material from the belts after it has first been softened and partially dislodged by the first spray 30. The spring as of course yieldably urges the brush 33 upwardly into contact with the lower runs of the belts so that it will best accomplish its purpose. It will be noted that the brush 33 is located immediately over the drain29 so that material dislodged by the brush will readily drop into and adjacent said drain to be carried off with maxi mum ease. I further provide a transversely extending wiper blade 36 secured at 3'! to the housing bottom 28 and this blade is of rubber or similar flexible material, so positioned as to engage and wipe the belts as they travel through the housing. This wiper is so located as to engage the belts after the spraying and brushing operations thereon previously described, and serves to remove any surplus liquid from the belts before they return to floor level.

The operation of the device as thus set forth will no doubt be obvious, but will be summarized as follows:

Under dry or fairly normal weather conditions the device merely serves as an ordinary or conventional door mat and people entering the building may wipe their feet upon it as they pass over in the usual manner. Any dust or dirt so dislodged will escape downwardly between the belts 8 and the frame bars I to be collected in the pan or housing 6. When the weather is wet or snowy, power is applied by the motor l8 and water or other liquid is admitted to the spray pipes 36 and 3|. The resulting travel movement of the belts 8 will cause them to scrape the footwear of the persons entering the building, as has been previously described, and the mud and other material thus collected by the belts will be deposited in the pan 6 and there removed by the flushing action of the water from the sprays 3D and 3! to be finally carried ofi through the drain 29. The belts themselves will be continuously cleaned and wiped as they travel below floor level so that as they return to floor level they will be in best condition for effective scraping operation, and a person leaving the mat and continuing on into the building will do so with his footwear in comparatively dry and clean condition.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A floor mat of the character described, comprising a frame having a series of parallel supporting bars, a series of horizontal, power actuated, flexible, endless belts mounted on end rollers so that their upper runs will travel between the bars, the upper surfaces of the belts having ribs normally projecting above the upper edges of the bars, a rigid support plate below the upper runs of the belts, a pad of resilient material positioned upon said plate and adapted to yieldably support the upper runs of the belts between said rollers in such manner as to permit downward flexing of the belts at pressure areas produced by foot pressure, and a flexible plate of smooth material positioned atop said pad to facilitate travel movements of the belts thereover while permitting flexing of the belts at such pressure areas.

2. In a floor mat of the character described and including a series of parallel supporting bars and a series of horizontal, flexible, endless belts mounted on end rollers so that their upper runs will travel between the bars, said belts having ribs normally projecting above the upper edges of the bars, support means for the upper runs of the belts comprising a pad of resilient material positioned between the rollers and beneath said upper runs of the belts, and a thin flexible metal plate secured on the upper surface of the pad and forming a smooth surface for the belts while permitting flexing of the belts at pressure areas produced by foot action on the projecting ribs.

3. In a self cleaning floor mat, a series of horizontally extending supporting bars disposed in spaced vertical planes, a series of power actuated, flexible, endless belts mounted on end rollers below the floor surface and with their upper runs extending longitudinally between respective pairs of said bars, shoe scraping projections extending outwardly from the belt so as to normally project above the upper edges of the bars, horizontally extending supporting means cooperating with the lower edges of the bars to form substantially U-shaped channels therewith substantially coextensive with the spacing between the rollers to provide supporting channels for the upper runs of the belts, the said belts being of such thickness as to extend down between the bars substantially to the plane of said supporting means, said horizontal supporting means for each belt being vertically compressible at any point throughout the length of the channel whereby the belt may flex in response to foot pressure to permit said projections, coincident to the area of foot pressure, to move down to a level with the top edges of the supporting bars.

4. In a self cleaning floor mat, a series of horizontally extending supporting bars disposed in spaced vertical planes, a series of power actuated, flexible, endless belts mounted on end rollers below the floor surface and with their upper runs extending longitudinally between respective pairs of said bars, shoe scraping projections extending outwardly from the belt so as to non mally project above the upper edges of the bars, horizontally extending supporting means cooperating with the lower edges of the bars to form substantially U-shaped channels therewith substantially coextensive with the spacing between the rollers to provide supporting channels for the upper runs of the belts, the said belts being of such thickness as to extend down between the bars substantially to the plane of said supporting means, said horizontal supporting means for each belt being vertically compressible at any point throughout the length of the channel whereby the belt may flex in response to foot pressure to permit said projections, coincident to the area of foot pressure, to move down to a level with the top edges of the supporting bars, said horizontally extending means for each pair of bars comprising a rigid support and a superposed compressible element extending the length of the channel.

5. In a self cleaning floor mat, a series of horizontally extending supporting bars disposed in spaced vertical planes, a series of power actuated, flexible, endless belts mounted on end rollers below the floor surface and with their upper runs extending longitudinally between respective pairs of said bars, shoe scraping projections extending outwardly from the belt so as to normally pro- J'ect above the upper edges of the bars, horizontally extending supporting means cooperating with the lower edges of the bars to form substantially U-shaped channels therewith substantially coextensive with the spacing between the rollers to provide supporting channels for the upper runs of the belts, the said belts being of such thickness as to extend down between the bars substantially to the plane of said supporting means, said horizontal supporting means for each belt being vertically compressible at any point throughout the length of the channel whereby the belt may flex in response to foot pressure to permit said projections, coincident to the area of foot pressure, to move down to a level with the top edges of the supporting bars, said horizontally extending means for each pair of bars comprising a rigid support and a superposed layer of sponge rubber extending the length of the channel.

6. In a self cleaning floor mat, a series of horizontally extending supporting bars disposed in spaced vertical planes, a series of power actuated, flexible, endless belts mounted on end rollers below the floor surface and with their upper ends extending longitudinally between respective pairs of said bars, shoe scraping projections extending outwardly from the belt so as to normally project above the upper edges of the bars, horizontally extending means cooperating with the lower edges of the bars to form substantially U- shaped channels therewith substantially coextensive with the spacing between the rollers to provide supporting channels for the upper runs of the belts, said horizontal supporting means for each belt being vertically compressible at any point throughout the length of the channel whereby the belt may flex in response to foot pressure to permit said projections, coincident to the area of foot pressure, to move down to a level with the top edges of the supporting bars, said horizontally extending means for each pair of bars including a rigid supporting plate, a layer of compressible rubber supported thereon, and

a thin layer of flexible metal over the rubber to provide a wear surface for the movement of the belt thereover while permitting restricted area compression of the rubber in response to foot pressure flexing of the belt portion thereabove.

7. A floor mat of the character described, comprising a series of parallel frame bars adapted to support the weight of a person walking over the mat, a series of flexible wiping belts arranged to travel at their upper runs between the said bars and having ribs normally projecting thereabove to wipe the soles of the footwear of said person, a pad of resilient material positioned beneath said upper runs of the belts and adapted to yieldably support the belt in such manner that the' ribs may be depressed, under direct foot pressure at points of foot contact, to a level with the tops of the adjacent frame bars while holding other parts of the belts in normal rib projected positions above the bars, and the said belts being of such thickness as to extend down between the bars substantially to the plane of the said pad.

8. A floor mat of the character described,

comprising a frame having a series of parallel supporting bars, a series of horizontal endless belts mounted on end rollers so that their upper runs will travel between the bars, the outer surfaces of the belts having projections adapted to normally project above the upper edges of the bars, a rigid support plate below the upper runs of the belts, a pad of resilient material positioned upon said plate and adapted to yieldably support the upper runs of the belts between said rollers, whereby the belts may be depressed by foot pressure at any exposed area while the pad continues to hold other parts of the belts with their projections in projected positions above the bars, the said belts being of such thickness that the undersides of the upper runs thereof will travel immediately over the upper surface of the said pad.

CARL O. SWANSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 574,621 McCullock et al. Jan. 5, 1897 810,037 Clemons Jan. 16, 1906 823,972 Richardson June 19, 1906 889,507 Chambers June 2, 1908 1,019,769 Dalton Mar. 12, 1912 1,227,205 Sarfakofi. May 22, 1917 1,543,411 Wittig June 23, 1925 1,567,832 Broge Dec. 29, 1925 r 1,748,899 Pilla Feb. 25, 1930 2,066,206 Laurie Dec. 29,1936 2,313,606 Webb et al Mar. 9, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 613,979 France Sept. 7, 1926 625,216 France Apr. 19, 1927 Netherlands Mar. 18, 1941 

